The Dempster Highway

The Dempster Highway

The Dempster Highway is the most northerly public highway in Canada taking you 734 kilometers from the gold fields of Dawson City to the Arctic Ocean. The Dempster Highway is the only public highway in the Western Hemisphere that actually allows you to cross the Arctic Circle in a car.

• across the Continental Divide three times
• through the Tombstone mountains of the western Yukon
• past some of Canada’s largest waterfalls
• along the North Klondike River valley to the treeline
• across deep canyons
• over some of Canada's fastest rivers
• down into the Mackenzie Valley which is a migratory corridor for millions of waterfowl travelling to Arctic breeding grounds
• to the mineral springs at Engineer Creek
• across the Ogilvie Mountains, some of the only terrain in Canada that was not glaciated
• past Elephant Rock
• to fishing areas where you can catch Grayling
• through the mysterious Richardson Mountains, the nothernmost region of the Rocky Mountains
• to Fort McPherson where you can visit the famous Fort McPherson Tent & Canvas Company
• across the Mackenzie River, the second longest river in North America on a ferry
• to Inuvik on the Mackenzie River delta and, in the winter, on the ice road to Tuktoyaktuk
  

It takes about 14 hours to drive the Dempster, Plan to hike and fish along the way and bring your camera.

The Dempster Highway runs between Dawson City and Inuvik

The Arctic Circle marker on the Dempster Highway

One of the view points on the Dempster Highway

Travelling the Dempster Highway in winter